Garment supporter



April 11, 1950 E, s', CUSHMAN 2,503,804

GARMENT SUPPORTER Filed April 27, 1946 :i Another object' isf Patented Apr. 11, 1950 UNITED- s-'mresN PATENT I OFFICE f;

GARMENT sUPPoR'rER Edwards. Cushman; sands. Point,y N. Y. Appiicaiion Apru- 27, 1946; 's eriarne. asesor 12 claims. (cile-aio.)

*used in. connectiony withV different 'pairs o trousers- .Another object isztol provide such a garment supporter in. whichy the elements attachable to the trousers donot require anyfs'pecial construe:- tioneof; the trousersbnt.are1fully adaptable-to attachmentto any usualtrouser' waist. seam? i. band. y to provide suchl a; garment supporter inf. which. the. connection.: between the". elements carried` from;` the shouldersvoffthe-:wearer: and the elements.A attachable to` the trousers' may be fn'xade and. maintainedainnse withi. the elements supportedfromthe shouldershidden'by the shirt of the wearer, withoutxrequiring-anyfchangein the y normar' formlor: construction' ofi theA shirt;

Another object is to provide sucha garment supporter in which the elements; attachable to the trousers arel iittedr to :be located above; each side hip oi"` thewearer and so conform to. the normali human figure and thev customary-shape ofitrousersresito-be comfortable andl inconspicnous;

Anotherl object; istoprovide such agarment supporter which inolurles means forv locking' the elementsl with thev trousers in. elevated normal position whileperntting lowering oijthe trousers withoutdisconnection or disarrangement of..A the adjustment. of the.. elements. .whereby the .trousers may, after lowering, be restored. tonormal raised position exactly as, they. werel beforeY lowering.

Another object is to., provide.. such` a garment supporter in which the looking offthegelements. for.. holding. the tro.users;in.elevatedposition and the unlocking.; of.. the.,y elements vis. accomplished: by.

' thelnexibility' ofi onev ory more of the elements memts supported. trom; thefshoulders. and: the.; ele.-

' ments attachabl'e tol the trousers. is such that.

sagging'off the front'. of.' the trousers will bepre, vented andthemaistline. of the trousers.willY remain; substantially horizontal` with. substantially straight vertical?.front` creases; on the trouser legs', regardless.. of the.; individual ignre of the. wearer; Another Objectis to provide such a garment. supporter which the elements attachable. tor the trousers :may be. used. with. garments; diiering. substantiallyinwaistbandfmeasurement, whereby the:z commercial. demand;v for the whole.- line.. of: waistband; measurements; from the smallest.- to; the.` largest, mayT be supplied. by the, manufacture of only two: or` three: different. sizes of the said.

elements..

Another; object.7 is.:.to; provide.; such a garment. supporter in which the elements attachableto. the. trousers: which; permit lowering; and@ raising thereof.; ,are f extensible; so `as;v to enablethe wearer.

4 tosincreasezatwiil the-lowering ofi." the garmentY Another-object. is; to. prox/ide. such a'. garment..

supporter. in whichf. the. extensible meansl just mentioneciis resilientgsoasf to tend to. restrict the extentof ,theloweringoi the, garment. l Another object: is:v toi provide certain im1 i: ,o.ve'.` ments in the formroonstruction, arrangement and; material; of: ther parts; whereby the above namedi. and;y other.v objects-- inherentin the inven.,Y tion mayfbe eiiectively attained.

Practical; emhodimentsf of; the-invention are shown, inthe yaoconipanying drawing,y in which Fig;y 11 represents. an.; elevation; of the garment. suppohteriim position on, the wearen. with certainfn elementsishown in diiferent positionsin full and, dotted lines. f

Eig. 2. represen-ilse. rear'view of the garment supporterinioperativefpositiongon the wearer. vEig. Srepresents. a. top edge. view, on.-a1:i;en' larg/ed" scala. of the; elements attachable to 1one sideofthe-trousers. l l v Fig. 4- rrepresents an. outside. elevation of they elements shown. inEig; 3i, certain. parte being', shown in; different positions in; fullV and,- dotted linesf.. Big5 5=. representsagsectlon taken in. a. plane on4 the line V-V of Fig. l, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 6 represents a detail section taken in the plane of the line VI-VI of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 7 represents a section taken in the plane of the line VII-VII of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 8 represents a section taken in the plane of the line VIH- VIII of Fig. 4, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 9 represents a section taken in the plane of the line IX--X of Fig. 4, looking in the direction or the arrows.

Fig. 10 represents a detail section, partly in elevation, of a modied form of fastening element; and

Fig. l1 represents a detail elevation taken a right angles to Fig. l0. A

It is quite generally recognized that the kind of support given to trousers by Suspenders, or the like, is preferable to thataiorded by a belt because, among other reasons, the Suspenders hang the trousers from the shoulders of the wearer, do not require any uncomfortable constriction around the waist, `are independent of the figure of the wearer at and near the waistline, and may readily .be adjusted for Varying the height of the trousers on the wearer. However, the use of belts 'in place of Suspenders has long been in large vogue, especially in the warm weather, because of the unsightly appearance of Suspenders when the wearers coat and vest are removed. Numerous attempts have been made to solve this problem which generally, if not always, have involved some special construction or design of trousers and/or shirt, together with complications in the means employed and uncomfortable and unsatisfactory performance in use. The present invention is designed to overcome these diiculties and to provide an arrange-v ment which can be produced in quantity at low cost, and can be used with satisfaction without regard to the physical form or size of the wearer and without calling for any change in the standard or normal design or construction of trousers and shirts.

Turning now to the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing, it

vshould be .noted at the outset that the elements of the garment supporter intended to be attached to the trousers are duplicated at each side of the wearer, as indicated in Fig. 2, so that the said elements for only one side will be set forth in detail, the one fitted for the left side of the wearer being selected for that purpose.

An arcuate shaped member is denoted by l, and it is preferably composedof some elastically resilient material such as Celluloid, one of the modern plastics or stainless steel. The said member is formed from nat sheet material andy is shown as of suicient length to encompass a substantial portion of the side of the wearer and of such width as to conveniently be associated with the waistband of trousers. v

At its ends and intermediate thereof, the member I is provided with devices for attaching it to the trousers, which devicespreferably take the form of spring fasteners such as are well shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Each of the said-fasteners consists of a strip of spring metal 2, one end of which is bent backwardly upon itself, in hook-like for'm,

and provided with barbs 3 which may be formed' by punching out the metal. The resiliency of the metal causes the end carrying the barbs 3 toresist movement away from the main body of the strip 2 so that anything forcibly inserted there-l between will be rmly held against withdrawal. The other end of the fastener is secured to the member I by rivets or other suitable means.

As a result of the construction just described. it will be clear that the member I may be attached to the waistband of trousers by locating the said member within the trousers and forcing it downwardly so that the hook portions of the fasteners 2, 3 embrace the upper edge and adjacent portion of the said waistband, as well shown in Fig. 1. In this position, the resiliency of the spring metal and the action of the barbs 3 prevent removal of the member i from the trousers by an upward pull thereon unless and until 'the barbs 3 are manually separated from the body of the strip 2,

' whereby the trousers may be held in proper position on the wearer by Suspenders, or the like, secured to the member I and its mate at the opposite side of the wearer.

An arm 5, which is preferably composed of material the same as or similar to the member I, though somewhat thicker to promote rigidity, is pivoted, as by a headed pin I5, to the member and adapted to swing to and from the positions shown in full and dotted lines in Fig. 4. The said arm carries a stud I that is tted to enter a hole 3 formed in the member I for locking the arm 5 in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 4. The engagement of the stud with the hole and disengagement therefrom may be manually eected due to the resiliency of the member I, which `resiliency, moreover, tends to maintain the lstud in locking positionwithin the hole. If desired, the arm 5 may be composed of some light metal, such yas aluminum or magnesium.

For the purpose of increasing the effective length of the arm 5, it is formed with a central slot 9 in which is telescopically received a slide IU which has an enlarged outer end forming a head I I. The inner end of the slide is connected at I2 to one end of a retractile coil spring I3 which has its other end fixed to the arm 5 as in-.. dicated at I4, whereby the spring normally tends to, draw the slide inwardly with. respect to the arm 5 and maintain the head I I against the outer end of the arm. At one end of the slide I0 is a pair of wings I5, I5 which bear upon opposite surfaces of the arm 5 and at the extremity of the arm is secured a pair of cleets I6, IB which bear upon opposite surfaces of the slide, to maintain the slide in parallelism with the arm for reciprocation in the slot 9. The cleets I6, I6 also act as stops to limit outward movement of the slide I0.

.Suspenders I'I, which may be composed of any suitable material, such as elastic or non-elastic tape, preferably consist of a pair of loops which` are secured together at the back of the wearer as indicated at .|8, while each loop is united with itself at each side of the wearer as indicated at I9, I9. Below the points I9, I9, single ends of the suspender loops depend and to the extremity of each is secured asuitable fastening device,V such as a conventional snap hook denoted by .'20, or the like, for the purpose of removably fasten-v ing the Suspenders to rings carried by thehead II of each arm 5, one of the said rings bein'g shown and marked 2|.

The modied form shown in Figs. 10 and 11 is the same as the form shown in the otheriigures, except that safety pins, one of which is shown' and marked 22. are substituted for the fasteners 2,'3; the safetyU pins being conveniently secured withlthe waistband of ,trousers with one end of the member toward the front and the other end to the rear, a pair of comparatively rigid arms each having one end pivoted to a said member to swing to positions with their free ends above and below the members, and cooperative elements on the members and arms for locking the latter with their free ends below the members, said elements on the said members being located nearer the front ends of the members than the pivot points of said arms when the members are attached to trousers in operative position, the flexibility of said members permitting engagement and disengagement of said locking elements.

4. A device for supporting mens trousers as a whole in wearing position and in lowered position comprising, elongated members provided with means for attaching them to and in substantial parallelism with the waist band of trousers at each side above theA hip portions thereof, arms having one end pivoted to said members and adapted to swing to positions with their free ends above and below the members for supporting the trousers in lowered position and in wearing position respectively, and cooperative elements on the members and arms for positively locking the latter with their free ends below the members.

5. A device for supporting mens trousers as a whole in wearing position and in lowered position comprising, elongated :members provided with means for attaching them to and in substantial parallelism with the waist band of trousers at each side above the hip portions thereof, arms having one end pivoted to said members and adapted to swing to positions with their free ends above and below the members for supporting the trousers in lowered position and in wearing position respectively, cooperative elements on the members and arms for positively locking the latter with their free ends below the members, and means on the free ends of said arms for connecting them with Suspenders.

6. A device for supporting mens trousers asv a whole in wearing position and in lowered position comprising, elongated members provided with means for attaching them to and in substantial parallelism with the waist band of trousers at each side above the hip portions thereof, arms having one end pivoted to said members and adapted to swing to positions with their free ends above and below the members for supporting the trousers in lowered position and in wearing position respectively, and cooperative elements on the members and arms for positively locking the latter with their free ends below the members; one of each pair of said parts being flexible to permit manual engagement and disengagement of the locking elements.

7. A device for supporting mens trousers as a whole in wearing position and in lowered position comprising, elongated members provided with means for attaching them to and in substantial parallelism with the waist band of trousers at each side above the hip portions thereof, arms having one end pivoted to said members and adapted to swing to positions with their free ends above and below the members for supporting the trousers in lowered position and in wearing position respectively, and cooperative elements on the members and arms for positively locking the latter with their free ends below the members, said members being iiexible to permit manual engagement and disengagement of the locking elements.

. 8. A device for supporting mens trousers as a free ends for connecting said arms with suspenders, and cooperative elements on the members and arms for positively locking the latter in said depending position.

9. A device for supporting mens trousers as a whole in wearing position and in lowered position comprising, elongated members provided with means for attaching them to and in substantial parallelism with the waist band of trousers atv each side above the hip portions thereof, armsv having one end fastened to the members and their other free end depending therefrom at an acute angle toward the front of the trousers when the members are attached to the waistv band thereof as above set forth, means on said free ends for connecting said arms with suspenders, and cooperative elements on the members and arms for positively locking the latter in said depending position with the means for connecting the arms with Suspenders nearer the front of the trousers than the point at which each arm is locked to its member.

l0. A device for supporting mens trousers as a whole in wearing position and in lowered position comprising, elongated members provided with means for attaching them to and in substantial parallelism with the waist band of trousers at each side above the hip portions thereof, arms having one end fastened to the members and their other free end depending therefrom at an acute angle toward the front of the trousers when the members are attached to the waist band thereof as above set forth, means on said free ends for connecting said arms with Suspenders, and cooperative elements on the members and arms for positively locking the latter in said depending position with the means for connecting the arms with Suspenders nearer the front of the trousers than the point at which each arm is locked to its member, said locking elements being located nearer the ends of said members which are adjacent the front of the trousers than are the points at which the arms are fastened to the members.

11. A device for supporting mens trousers as as a whole in wearing position and in lowered position comprising, a pair of flexible elongated members provided with means for attaching them to and in substantial parallelism with the waist band of trousers at each side above the hip portions thereof with one end of the members toward the front of the trousers and the other end toward the rear, a pair of comparatively rigid arms each having one end pivoted to a said member and the other end free to swing to positions above and below the members, and cooperative elements on the members and arms for positively locking the latter with their free ends below the members, the iiexibility of said members permitting engagement and disengagement of said locking elements.

12. A device for supporting mens trousers as a. whole in wearing position and lowered position comprising, elongated members provided with means for attaching them to and in substantial parallelism with the waistband of trousers at each side above the hip portions thereof, arms having one end fastened to the members and their other free end depending therefrom at an acute angle toward the front of the trousers when the members are attached to the waistband thereof as above set forth, means on said free ends for connecting said arms with suspenders, and means fixing the arms to the members in said depending position with the means 10 for connecting the arms with Suspenders nearer the front of the trousers than the said xing means.

EDWARD S. CUSHNIAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 398,046 Hollis Feb. 19, 1889 698,085 Wander et al Apr. 22, 1902 1,285,035 Cassidy Nov. 19, 1918 1,566,206 Greene Dec. 15, 1925 

